


Wait

by SaraJaye



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: Clocks, Devotion, F/F, Implied Relationships, Introspection, Loyalty, Mild Angst, Passage of time, Seasons, Waiting, offscreen character deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 12:24:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13434669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Pico counts the days by the grandfather clock, until it stops running. Then, she counts by the seasons.





	Wait

"Once we can be sure Venti is safe, I'll wake up. I promise."

Maybe it was optimism, maybe it was an empty promise so Pico wouldn't feel too sad. But after Dolly went to sleep, Pico waited. She took to watching the old grandfather clock, knowing that when it struck twelve twice a day had gone by.

She knew Dolly wouldn't be back before the end of the week, or the month. Ven needed so many runes to stay alive, and Pico wanted to save her as much as Dolly did. And the clock only counted hours, even days. She knew watching it wouldn't make the time pass faster.

But every day, she checked it at least once. She checked other clocks, the sunrise and sunset, the weather. She watched the people passing through Selphia, watched families form and grow and shrink. People were born, grew up, grew old and died.

She consoled herself with memories. Dolly as a little girl, carving their family's names in Leon Karnak. Mom making pumpkin flan or cake for dessert. Playing in the snow, picking flowers, watching the leaves fall, watching the fireflies.

They'd make more of those memories when Dolly returned, Pico thought. She'd get Mom to make all of Dolly's favorites, pick lots of flowers, they'd have a big party and go look at the tower where their names were carved.

The clock ticked on, and none of those things happened.

Mom and Dad grew older and sick, eventually passing away in a peaceful sorrow. Relatives came to bury them and Pico left extra Moondrop flowers on their graves, for herself and for Dolly. The mansion was empty now, and Pico waited. She slept on Dolly's bed, just so she could breathe in what lingered of her scent every night.

The clock eventually stopped running, so Pico counted the years by watching the seasons pass. Every time winter melted into spring, a year was over, and she hoped the next would be the one Dolly woke up.

Ven stayed alive and healthy thanks to Dolly, thanks to the sacrifices of three others. One day, Pico counted the one-hundredth New Year since that day, and Dolly still didn't return. That was the day a new girl fell into town, though, and quickly became a part of everyone's lives. This girl freed Amber and Dylas within a week of each other, much to everyone's shock, and suddenly Pico was tired of being patient. The girl, Frey, obviously had some kind of power, and Ven was perfectly healthy again.

The grandfather clock had collected layers of dust by now, still stuck on ten minutes after midnight. Suddenly, it started to move again, and moments later Frey called to her from the theater at the back of the mansion. _Dolly!_

It was another day before Dolly finally woke up, but Pico didn't mind. If she could tell time by the seasons for a hundred years, she could wait one more day. Snuggling into the clinic's bed beside Dolly, she buried her face in her shoulder and sniffled.

_Welcome home._


End file.
